Iran to buy over 100 planes after sanctions lifted

Iran to buy over 100 Airbus planes after lifting of sanctions, calls for international investment

Iran plans to buy 114 aircraft from European plane maker Airbus this week, senior Iranian officials say, as their country emerges from sanctions and international isolation.

The deal "will be signed between Iran Air and Airbus" when President Hassan Rouhani is in Paris on Wednesday as part of his first official European visit, according to Transport Minister Abba Akhoondi.

Tehran has long said it will need to revamp an ageing fleet, hit by a shortage of parts because of trade bans imposed by Washington and other Western powers.

Its planes fleet have suffered several fatal crashes in recent years

Mr Akhoondi told journalists Tehran was also interested in negotiating with US plane maker Boeing for aircraft.

"We have been negotiating for 10 months" for the purchase of planes but "there was no way to pay for them because of banking sanctions", Iranian state media quoted Mr Akhoundi as saying.

"We need 400 long and mid-range, and 100 short-range planes," he added.

The first batch of new planes will arrive in the country by March 19, he said.

Mahdi Hashemi, the chairman of the parliament's Development Commission, also urged international investors and airlines to move quickly into Iran after the lifting of sanctions.

"Come with your proposals. We would like to have new contracts and serve them immediately and make up for the losses that we suffered from in the past," Mr Hashemi said.

Iran emerged from years of economic isolation when world powers last week lifted crippling sanctions against the Islamic Republic in return for Tehran complying with a deal to curb its nuclear ambitions.

The deal also released billions of dollars worth of frozen Iranian assets and opened the door for global companies that have been barred from doing business in Iran.